USA > Ohio > History of Ohio; the rise and progress of an American state, Volume Five > Part 11
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RICHARD ALMGILL HARRISON
Born in Thirsk, Yorkshire, England, April 8, 1824; came to Ohio with his parents in 1832; admitted to the bar, 1846, at London, Ohio, where he resided till 1873, afterward living in Columbus; member of the Ohio House of Representatives, 1858-59, and Ohio Senate, 1860-61; member of Congress, 1861-63; unsuccessful candidate for Judge of the Ohio Supreme Court, 1870; declined appoint- ments to the State Supreme Court commission, 1876, and the State Supreme Court, 1887; one of the preeminent lawyers in the history of the State; died in Columbus, July 30, 1904.
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THE RISE AND PROGRE
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About three miles from Cannonsburg-the seat of Jeff won College, where he was educated under the celebra Dr. McMillen. He lived at home, walking to and En En AHat he graduated with the highest ho.
de lov clan. For a time he taught a classical scl in Richmond, Virginia. Later he returned to Cann
T dop he moved to Bucyrus, Ohio, and t. Tory and wervel as a tutor in the college while he stu
les law. In 1840-41 he represe war and Marion counties in the O htatives. In 1851 he made his ho Butier county, and practiced there u ich, ne was elected a Judge of the Supre term that began on February 9, I In ymcomedor, Judge Ranney, having resigned Www. 1x 1856, Governor Chase named Judge S Inr Le sacint place. He was reelected in 1861 1866, bnil declined to be again a candidate in 1 In 1872 he resumed practice at Bucyrus, but accer
Low Governor Hayes a meat on the first Supreme ( Lommission, where he served until February, In February, 1876, his associates elected him chief ju
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
but he declined to accept it. Being in feeble health when his term on the Commission ended, he did not resume practice; and died on June 15, 1879. He was twice married, and was survived by his widow and by a son and two daughters, all children of his first wife. The life of Judge Scott was active and useful, and was distinguished for its purity. He possessed remarkable traits of character; was a profound thinker and an able jurist. He was noted for his mathematical attain- ments, and his hours of recreation were frequently spent in solving abstruse problems in the higher mathematics. His judicial opinions are in Volumes 5 to 21, inclusive, and in Volumes 27, 28, 30, 32 and 33, Ohio State Reports. I have quoted freely from a sketch prepared by his brother judges.
William Virgil Peck was born at Cayuga, New York, on April 16, 1804. His father died in the following September, and in October his mother returned to their former home in Litchfield, Connecticut. He there attended the common schools; then Pierce Academy, and later South Farms Academy, until, at twelve years of age, he was employed as a clerk in a store. In 1824 he entered the famous law school at Litchfield, then con- ducted by Judge Gould, and graduated in 1826. He then went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and entered the office of Judge Bellamy Storer. In 1827 he opened his own office in Portsmouth, where, on June 8, 1830, he married Miss Mary Ann Cook. He soon acquired high reputa- tion and a profitable practice. In February, 1847, the Ohio Legislature elected him president judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the Seventeenth Circuit. In October, 1851, at the first election under the second
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
Constitution, the voters of the second subdivision of the Seventh Judicial District, composed of Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Scioto, and Vinton counties, made him its sole judge. They reelected him in 1856 for a five-year term, but he resigned and took his seat on the Supreme bench in February, 1859, having, in Octo- ber, 1858, defeated Judge Thomas W. Bartley. In 1863 he declined to be a candidate for another term. In 1864 he returned to Portsmouth, but did not resume practice. He died there on December 30, 1877, his wife-the mother of his many children-having pre- ceded him on the eleventh day of the same month. "The History of Scioto County," by Captain N. W. Evans, tells us that "of his contemporaries at the bar none ever spoke of him as a lawyer and a judge except in terms of highest commendation. As a common pleas judge he was considered the superior of all who came before; and since his time there has not been his equal." His opinions as a Supreme Judge are in Volumes 8 to 14, both included, of Ohio State Reports.
It would be of interest to include sketches of many other Supreme judges. A few selections must suffice
Charles Robert Sherman, father of William Tecumseh and John Sherman, was born in Norwalk, Connecticut September 26, 1788. He received the best educationa advantages of his day, studied law under his father Taylor Sherman, and Judge Chapman, and was admit ted to the Connecticut bar in 1810. He married Mary Hoyt in May of that year; traveled via Pittsburg Wheeling, and Zanesville to Lancaster, Ohio; decided to settle there; and in 1811, with wife and infant child rode on horseback through the wilderness to their nev
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
home. The war with England began in 1812, and he, as major of the Fairfield regiment, was active in filling the county quota for the army at Detroit. An old lawyer, who knew him well, wrote: "Established permanently at Lancaster, he rapidly rose to eminence as a polished and eloquent advocate, and as a judicious, reliable counsellor at law; few men were his equal, and fewer still his superiors, in Ohio or out of it." The same lawyer wrote of early Ohio practice thus: "Dur- ing the pioneer years of Ohio its lawyers were obliged to make extensive circuits; they were accustomed to accompany the courts from county to county. They rode together in primitive style; their saddle-bags stuffed with papers, documents, briefs, law books, clothing, and peradventure some creature delectation also. They were exposed to the same inclemencies and impediments in travel; they lodged together at the same inns, or taverns, messed at the same table, slept in the same rooms, and were not infrequently coerced by twos into the same bed. Free, jovial, genial, manly and happy times they were, when after a hard-fought field-day of professional antagonisms in court, the evening hours were crowded with social amenities, and winged with wit and merriment, with pathos, sentiment and song." * * * "At these sym- posiums of recreation-and they were held wherever the courts used to meet-Charles R. Sherman was always the most welcome of companions. Thus en- dowed and so associated, he became known as a leading and popular people's lawyer from the Ohio to Lake Erie."
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
In 1823 the Legislature elected him a Supreme Judge and placed him on the same bench with Calvin Pease, Jacob Burnet, and Peter Hitchcock. His opinions, in the early volumes of Hammond's Ohio Reports, are clear, compact, comprehensive, intuitive, logical, com- plete and conclusive. I quote from the same lawyer, who adds: "He won upon the bench, as he did at the bar, the affection and confidence of his associates. They esteemed him for his gentle and genial nature, for the brilliant flashes of his mind and the solid strength of his judgment; above all for the stainless integrity of his character as a judge and as a man." In June, 1829, when about to open court at Lebanon, Warren county, a virulent disease attacked him suddenly and caused almost immediate death on the twenty-fourth day of the month. No man in our State was more generally and sincerely mourned.
I cannot tell of Chief Justice Hitchcock in better words than those written by Judge William Lawrence when officially noting the termination of the court under the Constitution of 1802, on February 9, 1852.
Peter Hitchcock was born October 19, 1781, at Cheshire, Connecticut; graduated at Yale College in September, 1801; was admitted to the bar of his native State in March, 1803; removed to Burton, Geauga county, Ohio, in June, 1806, where he continued to reside, engaged in the practice of his profession, except when officially employed; was elected to the House of Representatives in 1810, and served one term, was elected to the Senate of Ohio in 1812, where he served two years; again elected in 1815, and during the session of 1815-16 presided over that body as speaker; was
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
elected in 1816 a Representative to Congress, in which capacity he served two years; again elected a member of the Ohio Senate in 1833, and during the session of 1834-35 a second time presided over that body as speaker; and finally was elected a member of the Con- vention which framed the new Constitution of Ohio, while he was yet Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of the State.
In all these various offices he acted a prominent and distinguished part, alike honorable to himself and to his country, with the history of which he is so identified that his services will be appreciated and his fame remembered as long as that history shall endure. As a jurist his services were still more preeminent. For twenty-eight years he was a Judge of the Supreme Court-the longest period of service rendered by any judge on that bench. His terms of service were as follows: He was commissioned as a Judge of the Supreme Court, February 5, 1819, in place of Hon. Ethan Allen Brown, resigned, and served seven years. He was again commissioned February 1, 1826, to take effect February 5, 1826, the date of the expiration of his first term, and served seven years. He was again commissioned March 7, 1835, in place of Hon. John C. Wright, resigned, and served seven years. He was again commissioned February 16, 1845, and served until February 9, 1852, when his term ceased by the operation of the new Constitution, about one week before the expiration of the full term for which the General Assembly had elected him.
He was chief judge six years; during 1831-32-33 and in 1849, 1850-51-52 until February 9. Two Ohio
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
colleges-Marietta and Western Reserve-honored him with the degree of LL.D.
Distinguished for his profound learning, his vast and varied attainments, his unsullied integrity, his long, laborious and useful services to the public, and for his extensive experience as a judge, in which capacity he was master of the law; with the confidence of the bar and the people, he retired from the high office of chief justice at the age of seventy years, enjoying in an emi- nent degree "Mens sana in corpore sano."
He died on the fourth day of March, 1854, at Paines- ville, Ohio. Throughout his career he was a generous benefactor of benevolent enterprises.
Reuben Wood was born in Rutland county, Vermont, in 1792. He served in the War of 1812-15 as captain of Vermont volunteers. He later studied law, came to Cleveland, Ohio, and began practice there about 1820. From 1825 to 1828 he was a member of the Ohio Senate. In 1830 the Legislature elected him presi- dent judge of the Third Common Pleas Circuit; and on February 17, 1833, the same body made him a Supreme Court Judge; to which office he was reelected in 1839, and served until 1846. In October, 1850, he was elected Governor of Ohio. The second Constitu- tion terminating his term before its two years had passed, he was again elected in October, 1851, and was the first Governor under that Constitution. The Demo- cratic national convention sitting at Baltimore in 1852 discussed the nomination of Governor Wood for the Presidency, but selected Franklin Pierce. If Reuben Wood had been President in 1853-54, his sound sense would have prevented the silly and disastrous repeal
RUFUS PUTNAM RANNEY
Born in Blandford, Hampden county, Massachusetts, October 30, 1813, and came with his parents to Portage county, Ohio, in 1824; admitted to the bar, 1836, and in his early professional career was partner of Benjamin F. Wade; member of the Constitutional Convention, 1850; Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, 1851-56, when he resigned; unsuccessful candidate for Governor, 1859; from 1856 lived in Cleveland, where he died December 6, 1891.
THE RISE AND PROGRESS
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Marco Wood was born in Rutland county, Vermont in The served in the War of 1812-15 as capta! Nimon worms. He later studied law, car 0, odlegmn practice there about 183 18 In wo a member of the Oh do Legislature elected him pre
de Dord Common Pleas Circuit; an 17, 1835, the same body made him Judge: to which office he was reelected detved until 1846. In October, 1850, !. m Elwarpor of Ohio. The second Constitu hon umminating his term before its two years had piled, he was again elected in October, 1851, and w= the Inn Governor under that Constitution. The Demo cratic ostiogAl convention sitting at Baltimore in 1857 discussed the nomination of Governor Wood for Presidency, but selected Franklin Pierce. If Reube Wood had been President in 1853-54, his sound serie would have prevented the silly and disastrous repeal
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
of the Missouri Compromise, and perhaps have thereby saved our country from the Civil War of 1861-65. In 1853 Judge Wood resigned the governorship and accepted a consulship at Valparaiso, Chile, where the climate favored his restoration to health. In 1855 he resigned, returned to Ohio, retired from public life, and on October 2, 1864, died at Rockport, Cuyahoga county. His judicial opinions are in volumes six to fifteen- both included-Ohio Reports.
Rufus Putnam Ranney was born at Blandford, Hampden county, Massachusetts, on the 30th day of October, 1813. His father was a farmer of Scotch descent. The family removed to Portage county, Ohio, in 1824. There, then a western frontier settlement, the means of public instruction were limited. They had brought some standard books from Massachusetts. His active, penetrating intellect aroused within him a desire to get an education. By manual labor, and teaching in backwoods schools, he earned enough to enter an academy, where in a short time he prepared himself for college. By chopping cordwood he earned the money to enter Western Reserve College, then at Hudson, but for want of means he could not complete the college course. At the age of twenty-two, in the law office of Joshua R. Giddings and Benjamin F. Wade, he began to study law, and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1836. Mr. Giddings began his long career in Congress, and upon Mr. Wade's suggestion the law firm of Wade and Ranney was formed, and soon became the leading one in northeastern Ohio. In 1845 Wade became president judge of the Common Pleas, and in 185I entered the United States Senate. In 1846
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
Ranney removed to Warren in Trumbull county. His party-the Democratic-nominated him for Con- gress in 1846 and 1848 in a district in which it was hopelessly in the minority; but in 1850 Trumbull and Geauga counties-though heavily Whig-chose Ranney a delegate to the second Constitutional Convention, where he served with distinction on the committees on the judiciary, on revision, on amendments and some others. His associates on the judiciary committee were Henry Stanbery, Joseph R. Swan, William S. Groesbeck, and William Kennon. In 1892 a committee of the Ohio bar, composed of Allen G. Thurman, Rich- ard A. Harrison Jacob D. Cox, F. E. Hutchins and Samuel E. Williamson thus wrote of his work and standing in that Convention:
"Although he was then a young man he was soon recognized as one of the leading members of the con- vention. In this body of distinguished lawyers, jurists and statesmen, there were few members who had as thorough knowledge of political science, constitutional law, political and judicial history and the principles of jurisprudence as Judge Ranney displayed in the debates of the convention. There was no more pro- found, acute and convincing reasoner on the floor of the convention, and in the committee rooms his sug- gestions and enlightened mind were invaluable. The amended constitution conforms very nearly to the principles and provisions advocated by him."
In March, 1851, the General Assembly elected him a Supreme Judge to succeed Judge Avery; and in Octo- ber of the same year the people elected him a member of the new Supreme Court. The terms were distrib-
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
uted by lot and the full five years fell to him. In October, 1856, Judge Josiah Scott, Republican, was chosen, and later in the year Judge Ranney resigned and began law practice at Cleveland in the firm of Ranney, Backus and Noble. In 1859 he was Demo- cratic candidate for Governor, but the Republican candidate, William Dennison, was elected. In 1862 both parties went to Ranney, Backus and Noble for their candidates for Supreme Court Judge, and that year Franklin T. Backus, Republican, was defeated by his Democratic partner. But the attractions and demands of a large northern Ohio practice soon induced Judge Ranney to finally leave the bench. He resigned on February 23, 1865, and renewed the practice of law at Cleveland. The demands upon his professional services were more than he could comply with; but the needs of a man or woman in difficulty or distress were more likely to secure his devoted services than the offer of a large fee. Toward the close of his life he gradually withdrew from the practice of his profession; but the urgent solicitation of some old friend, or an attack upon some important constitutional or legal principle, drew him occasionally from his library to the court room, where his participation in a case never failed to bring together an audience of lawyers eager to learn from him the art of forensic reasoning, of which he was a consummate master, and to be entertained and instructed by his sympathy and familiarity with the more recent advances in the science of jurispru- dence.
When the Ohio Bar Association was organized in 1881 he was made its first president. He devoted much
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
of his time for several years to placing "The Case School of Applied Science" at Cleveland upon a firm founda- tion, and providing for it adequate buildings and equip- ment. I quote again from the committee of lawyers:
"Judge Ranney was a man of great simplicity of character; wholly free from affectation and assumption. He could have attained the highest standing in any pursuit or station requiring the exercise of the best intellectual and moral qualities; but his ambition was chastened and moderate, and he seemed to have no aspirations for official place or popular applause. While always dignified he was a genial and companionable man, of fine wit and rare humor. While on the bench his most distinguished trait was his grasp of general principles, in preference to decided cases. He never ran to book shelves for a case which had some resem- blance to that in hand, perceiving, as he did, that the resemblance is frequently misleading.
"Judge Ranney had those qualities of simplicity, directness, candor, solidity, strength and sovereign good sense which the independent and reflective life of the early settlers of the western country fostered. He was a personal force whose power was profoundly felt in the administration of justice throughout the state. He made a deep and permanent impression on the jurisprudence of Ohio."
He died at his home in Cleveland on the 6th day of December, 1891. As a man, as a lawyer, as a judge, and as a statesman he left a record without a blemish, a character above reproach, and a reputation as a jurist and statesman which but few members of the bar have attained.
-
WILLIAM WHITE
Born in England, January 28, 1822; came to Spring- field, Ohio, in 1831; admitted to the bar, 1846; elected Prosecuting Attorney of Clark county, 1847, and three times reelected; Common Pleas Judge, 1857-64; Supreme Judge of Ohio, 1864 until his death; nominated by Presi- dent Arthur, and confirmed, as United States District Judge for the southern district of Ohio (1883), but on account of illness did not qualify; died March 12, 1883.
THE RISE AND PROGRE
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qualities; but his ambition wwwworl and moderate, and he seemed to have spiration. for official place or popular applause. Wh always dignified he was a genial and companional mio, of hpe wit and rare humor. While on the ber his most distinguished trait was his grasp of gene principles, in preference to decided cases. He nev ran to hook whelves for a case which had some resen hDance to dial is hand, perceiving, as he did, that 1) be Bopmity misleading.
Woons ber those qualities of simplici welldity, strength and soverei ok The independent and reflective efilet of the western country foster He was a personal force whose power was profound felt in the administration of justice throughout state. He made a deep and permanent impression the jurisprudence of Ohio."
He died at his home in Cleveland on the 6th day December, 1891. As a man, as a lawyer, as a jud! and as a statesman he left a record without a blem a character above reproach, and a reputation jurist and statesman which but few members of bar have attained.
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OF AN AMERICAN STATE
William White was born in England on the twenty- eighth day of January, 1822. His parents died in his early childhood, and he came to Springfield, Ohio, in 1831 with an uncle. When twelve years old he was apprenticed for nine years to a cabinet maker. After six years' service he bought his remaining time, his master accepting the boy's notes for the purchase money. Having paid these out of his later earnings, he diligently attended Springfield schools, principally the high school, working at his trade during vacations and other spare time. He studied law under William A. Rodgers, an eminent lawyer of Clark county, teach- ing school at intervals for his necessary expenses. In 1846 he was admitted to the bar, and was his precep- tor's partner until Mr. Rodgers became judge of Com- mon Pleas in February, 1852. In 1847 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Clark county, and was thrice reelected. In 1856 the bar nominated him for Common Pleas judge and he was chosen, over the two party candidates, by a large majority. The vote of Clark county was cast almost unanimously for him. In 1861 he was reelected. Judge Hocking H. Hunter having on February 9, 1864, resigned as Supreme Judge, Gov- ernor John Brough the next day appointed William White to fill the vacancy. In 1864, 1868, 1873, and 1878 the people elected and reelected him to the same office. Early in 1883 he was nominated by President Arthur, and confirmed by the Senate, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, but his illness prevented acceptance by him. He died on March 12, 1883.
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
On the 14th of that month the Ohio State Bar Asso- ciation, and other members of the bar, met in the Supreme Court room at Columbus. Judge Rufus P. Ranney, president of the association, appointed Richard A. Harrison, Allen G. Thurman, William H. West, W. W. Boynton, William J. Gilmore, Henry C. Noble, Durbin Ward, Michael A. Daugherty, and John W. Herron a committee "to draft a memorial and resolu- tions concerning the character and public services of Chief-Justice William White." They made a report, by Richard A. Harrison, which the meeting unanimously approved and adopted; the Supreme Court made it a part of their record, and by their order it was printed in full on pages 7 to 12, both included, in Volume 38, Ohio State Reports. I quote a few paragraphs:
"Judge White's simple and modest manners, his kindness of nature, his warm social impulses, his un- varying courtesy, his almost unexampled regard for the feelings and rights of others, his charity for human frailties, and his never failing patience toward all men, endeared him to everyone who knew him. These characteristics, as well as the manner in which he discharged the duties of his great office, made him a favorite with the bar, as well as with all ranks and conditions of men. Both the bar and the public mani- fested their admiration, esteem, confidence and grati- tude toward him, by renominating without opposition, and reëlecting him, as often as his term of office expired.
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